Fez Monkey

Not sure if this is the right place to inquire...but how much harm can it really do to try. Does anyone know the origin of the "Fez Monkey" icon? I have searched and searched and can't really find anything. Also, how did a hat of Greek origin become an element of tiki culture? the only thing I can figure is that according to wikipedia the Fez is a symbol of relaxation. Is there anything more to it than that?

[ Edited by: Blisskitchen 2008-07-23 13:39 ]

Did you check this TC Thread?

Also, I have a strong suspicion this guy might be a partial reason for the equation of Fez + Monkey = Tiki

"It was originally associated with the city of Fez in Morocco, where such hats were made, and it became the national headgear of the Turks.
Organ-grinders - men who busked using a mechanical organ to create 'music' - often had a monkey as a companion and to attract punters. The monkey generally wore such a fez.
All I can suggest as to the reason is that such street-entertainers may have started in the Mediterranean region where the fez was commonly worn."

Why it would become associated with Tiki?
Who knows...

The pondering of monkeys and fezzes goes back even further than the above thread. Here's a 2002 thread: Monkeys and Fezzes.

Considering the information posted above, and the fact that I spent a few hours last night contemplating this issue over frozen rum drinks, I have concocted a scenario in my mind that soothes my curiosity. True its totally fabricated, but most religions also revolve around similar stories that some of us need to answer the unanswerable questions.

Sailors were known to trade heavily at the ports at which they landed. One commodity that was a popular trade item at drinking establishments were monkeys. I remember hearing about this in bars in Amsterdam. They were exotic, entertaining and just damn funny to look at. A sailor might have a stop in South America and trade something for a Monkey, move on to the South Pacific and in turn trade that Monkey for a bar tab and an evening with a lovely lady. The bar now has a mascot...a gimmick to draw customers. Then you get a bunch of people together, having drinks and fun....what is the natural thing to do??? Dress the monkey in a funny costume and laugh at it!! Perhaps this monkey was traded by a Turkish or Greek sailor? With alot of spare time on their hands while at sea, why not fashion an outfit for the monkey, naturally a Fez would be appropriate as it was a common hat in those areas, it would be simple to make, and it would be easy to keep in place with a string under the monkeys chin. Much easier to keep in place than say a Tiara or a Turban. Boom....you have a monkey wearing a Fez in a drinking establishment in the South Pacific.

[ Edited by: Blisskitchen 2008-07-24 10:16 ]

On 2008-07-24 10:13, Blisskitchen wrote:

...some of us need to answer the unanswerable questions.

Here is my unanswerable question; Why the hell does the intersection of interstate 40 and 25 back up for miles all day? Okay so I've got another; does it take an architect to draw a Pueblo House or just a 2nd grader with a box of crayons?

I'm sorry, I have some unresolved issues with Albuquerque

Okay, okay, here is something constructive, Exotica music sometimes has a North African vibe, there is The Girlfriend Of The Whirling Dervish - Martin Denny or Caravan - 80 Drums Around The World
Morracco was and is a melting pot of societies and people, Fes, (fez) Berber (not the carpet) Andalusian, Portugal, Spain, all sea travlers, bringing Morracco to the Islands and the Islands to Morracco. It all goes together, Fez, monkeys, Madagascar, New Zealand, Polynesian, Hawaii, Les Baxter and Denny. See? all together now, I like to move it move it...

The traffic at I-40 and I-25 (The Big I as it is commonly known) is due to travelers who slow down to gaze in complete awe at an entire community of people that can live in stuccoed refrigerator boxes. Although it may appear to be construction that is slowing the traffic at the "Big I", it is merely a popular gathering place for out of work architects who are hoping to catch a ride to a town where they can find work.

On 2008-07-24 22:33, bananabobs wrote:

On 2008-07-24 10:13, Blisskitchen wrote:

...some of us need to answer the unanswerable questions.

Here is my unanswerable question; Why the hell does the intersection of interstate 40 and 25 back up for miles all day? Okay so I've got another; does it take an architect to draw a Pueblo House or just a 2nd grader with a box of crayons?

I'm sorry, I have some unresolved issues with Albuquerque

Okay, okay, here is something constructive, Exotica music sometimes has a North African vibe, there is The Girlfriend Of The Whirling Dervish - Martin Denny or Caravan - 80 Drums Around The World
Morracco was and is a melting pot of societies and people, Fes, (fez) Berber (not the carpet) Andalusian, Portugal, Spain, all sea travlers, bringing Morracco to the Islands and the Islands to Morracco. It all goes together, Fez, monkeys, Madagascar, New Zealand, Polynesian, Hawaii, Les Baxter and Denny. See? all together now, I like to move it move it...

..and to further this line of thinking..surf music has a heavy middle eastern connection as well as spanish.....it draws it's influence from both these cultures style of music, which is why you hear similiarites between them and surf music on occassion...

On 2008-07-24 07:05, Pikeys Dog wrote:
Why it would become associated with Tiki?
Who knows...

It's the the Shriner connection. Shriners (and Masons, in general) use lots of symbols and icons adopted from North African and Near Eastern Muslim areas (Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, etc.). Apparently, this recalls elements of that culture adopted by the Templar Knights, during their sojourn in Palestine, Syria.
Shriners do a great deal of good with their hospitals for children, but they became legendary for their playful spirit and their hi-jinx at conventions.
The fez has entered tiki culture as another sort of symbol of otherwise serious and respectable businessmen-types letting their hair down, 1950's style. Shriners at an out-of-town convention, or visitors to a "Polynesian Palace", both enjoyed exotic cultural artifacts and symbolism, drinking, playful naughtiness, freedom from propriety and rules, etc.

I took a picture of a display case with a fez from each of the 190-odd Shrines:

Wouldn't you love to have this one, for tiki purposes?

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't King Kamehameha the (?) a Shriner as well.

On 2008-07-25 11:38, cheekytiki wrote:
Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't King Kamehameha the (?) a Shriner as well.

King David Kalakaua, the "Merrie Monarch". He succeeded Lunalilo, who succeeded Kamehameha V. Last king of Hawaii, he was followed by Queen Lili'uokalani. He was a Mason from early on, but became a member of the San Francisco Shrine, apparently just a couple of days before he died (Shriners are a sub-set of the Masons). So, I guess he never got his little car.

Hawaiian Royalty and the Craft

[ Edited by: Limbo Lizard 2008-07-25 12:30 ]

On 2008-07-25 07:58, Tipsy McStagger wrote:

..and to further this line of thinking..surf music has a heavy middle eastern connection as well as spanish.....it draws it's influence from both these cultures style of music, which is why you hear similiarites between them and surf music on occassion...

Taking this line of thinking one step further, Spanish music (i.e. flamenco guitar) is also, in itself, influenced by Middle Eastern music.

The connection comes from the period when Spain was a Muslim country under the North African Moors and is also reflected in Spanish cuisine -- paella (for example) being an adaption of a Middle Eastern pilaf. Or those little kebabs you get -- pinchitos morunos ("Moorish skewers").

Anyway, wearing a Fez because of coziness at home in Middle-Europe goes back until the middle of the 19th century, the era of Biedermeier. In that case, there is no connection to masons or the Ottoman Empire. Okay, maybe its because parts of the troops of the Austrian-Hungary empire - Bosnia, what was a part of the Ottoman Empire but occupied by the Austrians - had fezzes as part of their uniform and maybe some officers brought it to Middle-Europe when they returned to the capital of the empire. But there seems to be a gap of a few years...

Also, in "Max und Moritz", the famous cartoon by Wilhelm Busch from 1865, the tailor Böck, who is tricked by the boys, wears a fez.

Even Elton John wears one in his 80ts videoclip "Nikita", because of coziness at home...

So its all about the coziness!!!

[ Edited by: El Buho 2008-09-01 20:35 ]

The New York State Fair ended today. I took this picture at the fair yesterday.

The falafel and gyro vendor.

I didn't wear my fez to the fair. I have just one fez so far.

I know that in the late 80's and early 90's Archie McPhee has sold many Monkey Wearing Fez products. Everything from candles, to sling shot monkeys.

http://www.mcphee.com

Fez-A-Roni...The Tiki Central Treat!

2011: The Fezzes or No Fezzes poll - immediate results

2011: Trader Vic says no to the fez !!

2009: Show us your FEZ

2008: Fez Monkey

2007: Tikis and Fez'zzz...what's the connection ?

2006: Which is the meaning of the fez in lounge culture?

2005: Monkeys and Fezzes

2004: Fabulous Fez Instructions

2004: Fez Monkeys?

2002: Monkeys and Fezzes

Woofmutt: I believe you just cross-posted.

(scratch, scratch)